Ekahau and Symbol today announced a solution to help organisations more efficiently track the location of inventory and assets with radio frequency identification (RFID). The first implementation of this new application will use Symbol’s MC9000 mobile computing RFID reader, which incorporates Ekahau location-enabling software designed to locate where RFID tags are being read.

The RFID location-enabled Symbol mobile computers are aimed at the retail and supply chain markets and can be extended to pharmaceutical, healthcare, government and other industries where there is strong adoption for Electronic Product Code (EPC) RFID.

The Symbol MC9000-G RFID mobile computer integrates Ekahau’s location-tracking software which, in conjunction with a computer running the Ekahau Positioning Engine 3.1 (EPE) application, uses existing Wi-Fi networks to show in real-time the location of the devices. The combined solution will enhance the functionality of passive RFID tags by tracking the location of the mobile computer when in use and converting the location information into EPC RFID data in the supply chain. This unique approach marries the benefits of real-time location systems (RTLS) and RFID by extending the tracking capabilities of RTLS to RFID.

“Symbol rugged mobile computers embedded with Ekahau’s Wi-Fi-enabled, location-tracking solution are powerful tools for retailers and other companies that rely heavily on passive RFID tags to manage inventory, and can benefit from knowing where those products reside at any given time,” said Tuomo Rutanen, vice president of business development at Ekahau. “Staff can reduce the time searching large warehouses or retail facilities, and more quickly find the RFID-tagged items, which allow them to better attend to customers’ needs.”

“Supply chain management can become much more streamlined with Symbol’s new location-enabled RFID mobile computers,” said Phil Lazo, vice president and general manager of Symbol RFID infrastructure. “The ability to monitor the location of their RFID-tagged products provide our customers with a distinct advantage over their competitors – from being able to improve their ability to fill orders to cutting costs associated with manual tracking activities.”